Obama tells fib on rising premiums

October 16, 2012

President Barack Obama and his advisers, stung by his lackluster performance in the first presidential debate, have begun blaming the loss on alleged dishonesty by challenger Mitt Romney.

Yet Obama was the winner, in a way, at the debate - for the biggest whopper of the night.

Obama is desperate to convince Americans his administration's virtual takeover of the health care system is a good thing. So, during the debate, he bragged that, "Over the last two years, health care [insurance] premiums have gone up, it's true, but they've gone up slower than at any time in the last 50 years. So we're already beginning to see progress."

Much more "progress" such as that during the past two years, and many Americans will be in the poorhouse. Obama's claim is far from true.

According to fact checkers at The Associated Press, health insurance premiums are growing at a rapid rate. Last year, they increased by 9 percent - far from the slow growth claimed by the president.

In fact, Obama's mismanagement of health care is proving to be very expensive for tens of millions of Americans. Premiums for family health insurance through employers have increased by nearly $2,400 since 2009.